What's the big structure being built on Old Wharf, even extending into the water?

oh ,i can tell you-it is a canal-our new waterhighway,the big ,all you can built thing-hope it,s soon buried under the dirt,that we can sleep quiet,long,without problems-ask the government-hopefully the IMF will not finance this

There is no structure extending into the water at old wharf.
However there is some activity now on the sea front, with big machinery -- but have no idea what is planned for there.
It is on the front (below) of the land that a Mr. Bicknell has purchased, and he has plans to build a house there. How large, how small .. no one has said.

The sad thing: the turtles will no longer come to lay here, at one of the few places we know of that they do lay their eggs.

It is very sad about the sea turtles. I have seen some way up in Billys Bay, but that means nothing for the ones who won't come back to Old Wharf anymore. When the big machines leave, I guess there is no way they would come back to their old home?

Turtle Lover, the reason they will not come back is their nesting grounds will no longer be condusive to laying eggs. They are not laying eggs much right now anyway.
So, we have laws against killing turtles, and these laws are not enforced. We have no laws against destroying their nesting grounds. Nice. Do those people building know what they are doing? Do they even care?
I do not envy Diana from JET. Multiply my frustration by a thousand, and that is what she goes through every day trying so hard to get people to care and understand. And when you finally get SOME people to care and understand there are twice as many who don't. And then you have the govt... Geez

This could be a naive comment because I haven't seen what's being built there on Old Wharf, but isn't there some restriction about how close to the beach someone is allowed to build a house or even a wall?

I'm thinking people familiar with TB would not build so close to the water or disturb a place where the turtles lay eggs. I'm thinking the person whose place is being built and the builder are not from the area. True?

You may be right, "True?" but that doesn't excuse this seemingly casual destruction of coastline and turtle habitat. Has construction already begun? Is there a way to get it halted before more of the beach is destroyed? Has anyone referred this matter to Diana McCaulay to see if there are any violations over which JET could get involved?

I think it's a local builder. Even if what's being done is legal, I think it's immoral. Merely one guy's opinion.

Get mad! get angry! DO SOMETHING!!!!
This complaining just goes on and on but nothing changes. People just do whatever they want because you are not united to stop anything!
You are all backed in a corner one way or another. Come out fighting or pick up your toys and go home!
I have never seen a community in all my life that gets bullied and pushed around they way it happens there. Once you quit caring about what every 'big shot' in the area thinks of you and stand up for yourselves, then you may see positive changes. Until then, just shrug your shoulders and keep on walking. I have been reading (and posting) here about all this stuff for months, and it is really getting old. All I see is people complaining about several negative things that are happening. You need to figure out a way to change things. You are smart, strong and courageous. DO IT!!!

Hi everybody, I read this thread and it seems there are concerns about a single house or villa on the waterfront? If that is correct, an environmental permit is not required by law. Parish Council approval is needed, a sewage license is needed if there is to be sewage treatment, and if there is to be any encroachment on the foreshore, a beach license is needed. There are no setback laws - but there is supposed to be a setback policy, which is applied sometimes and not other times - I am at home and do not have the suggested setback limit with me - but can supply it later.

As for the turtles, so far NEPA has only required turtle friendly lighting from those projects governed by environmental permits, but I don't think sufficient monitoring and enforcement has been done. You are also supposed to report any turtle sightings or nests to NEPA - but as I said earlier, this is all in context of an environmental permit

Personally, regardless of what the law says and aesthetic and wildlife considerations, I think it foolhardy to build too close to the sea, in this era of rising sea levels and probably more severe storms. Were I the property owner, I would set my house as far back from the sea as my land allowed and I would leave every aspect of the beachfront - the dune, the vegetation, the beach, the marine environment - untouched. It is in some kind of equilibrium and once that is disturbed, it is impossible to predict what will happen - as Negril has discovered to their cost. I would build on stilts, I would have every water conservation device known to man, I would landscape with native plants only and I would have my house as invisible as possible in what is unquestionably a unique landscape.

As to what folks can do about their concerns, the Parish Council is required by law to keep a register of their approvals and this is public, but it is unclear how much detail is required to be captured by the register. Citizens also are able to request any document held by the government of Jamaica under the Access to Information Act, and this must be supplied (at a modest cost, $5 a copy, I think, but again am at home without files) within 30 days. The law also makes provision for a citizen to request a review of a file in the parish council office without making copies.

I think that's it from me - I don't have any specific knowledge of this particular development, but these are my general thoughts. Again, this speaks to the urgent need for some kind of planning and development framework for Treasure Beach.

Diana from JET

Would someone be so kind as to say who the builder of this property is. If no one knows, please ask someone operating the heavy equipment. I would do it myself but I will not be down there until October.

Also, it is possible for someone to obtain the Parish Council approval for this dwelling? If you do and do not wish to state your name, I will be glad to mail the money to Rebecca or give it to her in October and she can give it to you. I figure the $5 or so is a good investment.

When I bought a piece of beach front property a while back and it never occurred to me that there might be turtles nesting there. Before I was fully aware of what was going on I built a fence to keep the neighbors goats from eating everything I planted. In doing so and without knowing I was doing so, I may have fenced the turtles from some of their habitat. If I had been made aware of the turtles when I first bought the place, I could have taken them into account as I drew my house plans and built the fence. I would have been glad to do so. If we could come up with a very simple pamphlet on protecting turtle habitat, I wonder if we could get the government or the planning department to give them to all the people with land along the sea or at least to the recent purchases as they occur.

Great idea, but lets not wait for the government for Pete's sake.... Anyway, I won't go there...
Getting the word out for me has been like pulling teeth. But passing out pamphlets is relatively cheap. Anyone down there want to take this on? They should also be put in hotel lobbies. Education, education, education!!!!!

Is this something the TBWG could do? Not even a pamphlet would be necessary. Maybe they could prepare a one page flyer with the pertinent info. They could also go to the teachers at all the local schools. Or maybe Sandy Bank could take this on as an environmental project. In any case, there's no reason to wait for the government for something this easy and something they probably wouldn't do anyway.